Film: The Big Short

22 February 2016

Director: Adam McKay

IMDb: 7.9

Rotten Tomatoes: 88%

Parkville Station: 7

The Big Short does what no Macroeconomics lecturer could ever do – make me understand what caused the Global Financial Crisis, and what on earth sub-prime mortgage loans really are. And make it all fascinating. Following the story of the men who saw the GFC coming where none of the big banks could, the film doesn’t really give us any protagonists. Everyone in the film is trying to capitalise, and the losers aren’t the big banks – they’re the everyday people. Despite this, it provides some hope, and some sense of vindication against the Wall Streeters who aren’t quite as brilliant as they think they are.

The film is odd, there’s no getting around that. It jumps between different narrative styles, makes Steve Carrell play a serious part, and explains economic theory via Margot Robbie in a bathtub, but it all kind of holds together. And it’s worth the ride regardless.